This is at Quonset Point in Rhode Island where they come off the ships. And then just sit and wait..... Hard to believe these $100,000.+ supercars sit out in the salty sea air for months on end before they get to the dealership. Hope that wrap is on really tight. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
it might have been unwise to upgrade the powerplant so early in the cars lifespan... who want's yesterdays papers ???
Bottom line, it's still just an expensive Audi...there's a million similar Audi's at every stop light and kids soccer game. Are they fast? Heck yeah. Build quality? Good I'm sure. Would I pay $125k for one? no way. Sorry, mass production dilutes the brand, just look at Porsche and BMW.
I like cars for how they make me feel. Their driving dynamics, fun quotient, and the beauty I see in them is what matters... not what others think about the brand of my car.
I never once mistook an A4 for an R8 so not sure what you mean about audi's being at every stop light..... like saying Nissans are at ever light so the GTR is on every street corner? So would you rather own a limited production hand built POS then a quality built supercar that may look better, performs better and be more reliable that was produced in higher numbers with the main concern being "brand perception" ? Some own to drive and others own for show. That is OK, what makes the world go round.... Porsche owner here.....
Funny story- I was involved in a Ferrari press drive a couple of summers ago. We drove from Maranello to Le Castellet in a pair of 612s and a 599. Somewhere on the Cote d'Azur, our caravan drove by an R8 heading in the opposite direction. It was the first one I'd seen "in the wild", and I have to say it was pretty arresting- it isn't a flat-plane V8, but it sounds pretty darned good, and the LED "eyebrows" (now a bit overdone with the A6 and A4) make it very visually arresting the first time you see it as well. The sound and the visual made 3 jaded automotive journalists driving a million bucks' worth of Italian hardware do almost comical doubletakes. So sure it's "just an Audi", but it's still a stunner. I wouldn't throw it out of the garage. Gio P
It's not uncommon for cars to sit like that for months at a time at all. I'm more surprised that there are that many R8's that just sit there.
An amazing sight .. and surprised you can get that close to them. I bet the new buyers don't realise that their prized possession has been sitting outside for months prior to them getting their hands on it.
my friends and i used to work at quonset point, preparing the new cars for delivery to the dealers. a good paying job when i was in HS. also a lot of fun, driving brand new cars around. we were working on mainly saab's and vw's, but would often get random deliveries of other makes. 16 yrs old and given the keys to brand new $45k (big money back then!) saab aeros or brand new vr6 corrados. let me tell you, if anybody is afraid to bring your brand new car to redline, don't worry, it's already been done for you. the gas tanks were often near empty, and would sometimes stall. so we had the excuse we needed to rev the crap out of them to keep them running. those first few delivery miles were probably the harshest miles the cars ever saw. 90 degrees out, AC cranked, redline clutch drops...yeah, we were dumb kids making $1.50 per car. after i had that job, i never worried about new car break in.
I understand when people say they don't like the R8. Comparing a book by it's cover the R8 definitely doesn't look up to par, but compared to it's nephew the Gallardo it starts to stand out. The R8 will MSRP for $118,000 The Gallardo (not the 560 either) will MSRP for $186,000 Allot of the options in the Gallardo are standard in the R8. Even with 100 less horsepower and a 500 lb disadvantage the R8 typically comes in very close to the Gallardo. With that in mind, the R8 seems like a bargain and a reliable care that brings uniqueness. That being said, the Audi nameplate really hasn't gained the notoriety of its peers and for that it has some hurtles to overcome. Regardless, Audi did a good job with the car.
I'll take a used Gallardo for the same amount of $$ or even less. I noticed a huge performance difference between driving the two. Some people don't like the looks of the G though so to each his own.
True, but I suspect a lot of the R8s will be leased, and under factory warranty, which can be a factor. Even a 575 is cheaper and a lot more car, BUT there's a lot more downside if anything breaks off-warranty.
You do realize that more Ferraris are produced each year than R8's, right? Audi makes 5000 a year, Ferrari made 6600 in 2008. That's 33% more! And that's why you'll never find me in a Ferrari. Too common. Well, actually it's because they're overpriced, but dime a dozen don't help either.